OCTOBER 6: Haren has confirmed that he will, in fact, hang up his spikes, as ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers reports.
It is likely that the righty has already thrown his last pitch, though he said he would remain prepared in the event that the Cubs need him for the post-season. As Rogers notes, that seems unlikely barring an injury situation.
“If I don’t pitch in the postseason, that’s it,” Haren stated. “It’s been fun. Hopefully there’s a lot more games to go. … If my name is called, I’ll be ready.”
Even if he doesn’t get a playoff call, the veteran ended his career on a good note. Though he scuffled early upon his move to Chicago, Haren allowed just eight earned runs in 32 2/3 over his final six starts. All said, he tallied 187 1/3 innings of 3.60 ERA pitching on the year, making for a productive final campaign.
AUGUST 2: Newly-acquired Cubs righty Dan Haren is leaning towards ending his career once this season is over, Haren told reporters including MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. Upon being dealt to Chicago, Haren tweeted that he would wearing jersey #50 as a Cub, which was his number when he first broke into the big leagues “and it’ll probably be my last.”
Expanding on that tweet, Haren left himself a bit of wiggle room but “I would say right now the chances are this will probably be it. I don’t want to say this is it and pull a Brett Favre. That’s why I said ’probably’ [on Twitter]. At least I leave myself a little way out. Chances are this is it. After the season, I’ll relax and see where I’m at. I definitely want to make a push to get to where this team wants to go.”
The decision isn’t a surprise, given that Haren considered retiring last offseason after being traded from the Dodgers to the Marlins. Haren has spoke openly about the difficulty of being away from his wife and children and his home in southern California, so it may be that an offer from a team in that region may be the only thing that changes Haren’s mind about retirement.
If this is indeed it for Haren, he’ll go out with an impressive 13-year stint in the majors that saw him make three All-Star teams and earn just under $81.5MM. Haren, who turns 35 in September, posted a 3.77 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 4.07 K/BB rate from 2003-2014 with the Cardinals, A’s, Diamondbacks, Angels, Nationals and Dodgers. He’s still pitching effectively this year (a 3.42 ERA in 129 innings for Miami), which is why the Cubs pursued him at the deadline to bolster the back end of their rotation.